Stephen Blandino opens Insanely Practical Leadership with a confession: “I’m not a natural leader.”

He’s not alone. According to a Gallup report, only “about one in 10 people possess the talent to manage,” that is, “to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company’s performance.”

The good news for the other 90% is that they can learn to lead. Having done just that, Blandino is well-positioned to teach others. His book is a master class in leading, especially within the context of local church ministry.

Blandino defines good leadership as “the ability to positively influence people toward a shared vision while maximizing their gifts for the greater good.”

Each element of this definition suggests ways leadership sometimes goes wrong. Leadership can become an exercise of power rather than persuasion; create division instead of harmony; and pursue idiosyncratic goals that do not benefit the larger community.

When leadership goes awry, people lose trust in institutions. A 2024 Gallup poll reveals low levels of trust in U.S. leaders and institutions. This includes the Church, with only 32% of Americans expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of trust.

Good leadership is a necessary first step toward restoring confidence in the Church and other institutions — and accomplishing Christ’s mission.

So how do we learn to lead better?

Blandino answers this question by focusing on self-leadership in Part 1 and leading others in Part 2.

The former examines growth, spirituality, character, thinking, time management, and decision making. Part 2 covers influence, relationships, servant leadership, communication, conflict management, and coaching.

Each chapter includes questions and a leadership tool for individual reflection or group discussion.

Two chapters stood out to me personally.

Chapter 2, “How to Be a Spiritually Grounded Leader,” is especially crucial for pastors and other ministry leaders. Leading any institution is difficult, but ministry carries unique spiritual challenges.

“As the external pressures of leadership increase, we need a more powerful presence with us,” Blandino writes. “Without the unlimited resources of the Holy Spirit, we’ll navigate the landmines of leadership in the limitations of our own strength.”

“Without the unlimited resources of the Holy Spirit, we’ll navigate the landmines of leadership in the limitations of our
own strength.”
— Stephen Blandino

Blandino identifies four keys to receiving the Spirit’s resources.

The first is priority, a word that originally appeared in English during the 1400s, indicating the most important thing. Only in the 1900s did the plural form appear, as if there could be multiple most important things.

Blandino wants Christian leaders to recover a singular spiritual priority. “Jesus must be the center of our lives,” he writes. “When Jesus is the center, He influences every other part of our lives.”

Prioritizing Christ requires practices, such as prayer and Bible study, that “bring us before God to be transformed by His presence.”

A pace of life that allows for “unrushed time with God” is vital. Leaders must further develop a healthy perspective on the inevitable difficulties of life and leadership.

“You need to see pain, tests, and trials as the tools God uses to form you, grow you, and stretch you as a leader,” Blandino explains.

Too often, even Christian leadership books neglect the topic of spirituality. This is unfortunate, because one cannot lead a spiritual community without paying close attention to the spiritual formation of both leaders and followers.

Chapter 9 covers another underappreciated topic: servant leadership. It explores the practices of leading by serving and serving by leading.

“When you lead by serving, servanthood drives your leadership,” Blandino says. “You’re not focused on the rights of leadership but on the responsibilities of leadership.”

However, “To serve by leading requires you to embrace your leadership gift. In other words, the best way you can serve the organization is to use your leadership gift to add the greatest value possible. Failure to lead … is poor stewardship.”

Leaders go wrong by leaning too far to one side or the other. One extreme risks losing sight of the vision. The other feeds pride, a temptation for every leader.

Good leaders hold both sides in tension, maintaining a clear focus on organizational objectives but with a humble posture.

Every Christian could benefit from Insanely Practical Leadership, but I recommend it to three groups of readers in particular.

Ministry students, interns, and young pastors would benefit from applying its principles at the start of their careers.

Church boards and team leaders should work through it together, developing a common framework for addressing the challenges of ministry.

Finally, Blandino’s insights offer experienced pastors a refresher course on leadership, as well as a sourcebook for coaching pastoral staff and board members.

Book Reviewed

Stephen Blandino, Insanely Practical Leadership: 12 No-Nonsense Keys to Master the Art of Leading Yourself and Others (Sanford, FL: Avail, 2025).

This article appears in the Winter 2025 issue of Influence magazine.